"ChrysCapital has teamed up with GIC to bid for the financial services company. They seem to have gained a clear edge over rival bidders," said a person directly involved with the transaction.

The deal may value the company between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 1,100 crore as it involves strategic 49% stake in PNB Housing Finance. PNB Housing Finance is the largest unlisted player in the space. Housing companies are usually valued at 1.2 times of their networth.

The proposed transaction will mark the culmination of a competitive bidding process, which started three months ago. NSR has mandated investment bank Morgan Stanley to sell the privately-held company where it holds 100% stake. Other PE funds such as Actis and General Atlantic Partners had also participated in the bidding.

While New Silk Route's CEO Parag Saxena did not reply to email questions on the subject, Destimoney Broking's MD & CEO Sudip Bandyopadhay declined comment. In 2008, NSR, an Asia-focused growth capital firm founded in 2006 with $1.4 billion under management, had bought the company, then called Dawnay Day AV Financial Services, for Rs 200 crore.

NSR later bought the businesses under a holding company called Destimoney Enterprises Private Ltd. Destimoney Enterprises own 80% stake in Destimoney Broking with balance owned by investors like Dhanalaxmi Bank and NRI Raghuvinder Kataria.

In 2009, Punjab National Bank sold 26% stake in PNB Housing to Destimoney for Rs 79.2 crore. Three years later, Destimoney exercised its option to raise its stake to 49% by subscribing to compulsory convertible debentures worth Rs 137.3 crore.

PNB Housing Finance had a net worth of Rs 620 crore on March 31, 2013. This benchmark will offer PNB Housing a valuation of roughly Rs 750 crore. In the past, PE funds have tried to buy out Destimoney's stake directly in the PNB Housing through a demerger but that has significant tax implication.

Destimoney also offers broking services across equities, currency and commodities to HNI clients and distributes third party financial products like retail loans, insurance products and mutual funds through a network of 1,700 franchises across 30 branches nationwide.

While broking constituted 40% of its FY14 top line of Rs 60 crore, distribution of third party products has also grown over the years. The company was originally launched as a joint venture between mutual fund industry veteran Alok Vajpeyi and Dawnay Day International, the financial services unit of UK-based Dawnay Day Group.